Folsom F.I.R.E. Party *Folsom *Independant *Republican *Emergence

Few notes to set the record straight from Kyle Smith's point of view:

The opposing candidates are around town telling people the only reason I am running for a council seat is to re-establish a Fire Dept in Folsom. This cannot be any further from the truth as that would take many years and countless thousands of dollars which, due to the current administration, Folsom does not have. I would love to see a pumper or tanker come down the street with the Folsom name on it but that is simply not in the cards. I dispute their claims on many levels up to and including the fact that I am now a proud member of the Collings Lakes Fire Dept. continuing what I have always had a passion for. I know many members of Council and especially the mayor thought I would sit home and sulk while I make a lot of noise trying to take their council seats.   

I am running for a council seat due to the poor decisions made by our current elected officials. These people are voted to serve the tax payers of Folsom but have been complete “yes men” to a Mayor with a grudge. These self-serving individuals have been in these offices for too long and have gotten way to comfortable up there. This is why none of them have done their due diligence and researched what effect the closing of the fire dept. would have on the very residents who pay their salaries. Not a single council person can tell you what is included in the lawsuit the town has filed against the Fire Co., I have asked many of them to review it and also review what data the mayor supposedly had stating we were an inadequate Fire Co. so please ask them and try to get an honest answer. The Mayor of this town has entirely too much power over council and it has to change. Being involved in the ins and outs of the Fire Co in Folsom for my entire life I can honestly say we did everything by the book, and accounted for every cent we have. There has been to claims by the Mayor or Council which have turned out to be true.

I can no longer sit and watch a bunch of grown men not have a voice for either themselves or the people they took an oath to serve. We need more creative thinkers within our government to lead the town in the right direction.  Taxes in Folsom are low not due to the current officials, but in spite of the current elected officials. 

We simply can’t continue to have backroom meetings and hidden hand- shakes. A small town like Folsom will always be affordable for many different reasons. With the amount of people we have in this town and the lack of services that the town actually provides it should be no issue to a tax payer to simply ask questions or request info on where our money is being spent. These answers should be readily available from town hall yet you are constantly directed to another person or to the underwhelming website. Considering every person living in a residence in Folsom knows, sometimes to the penny, what their monthly bills are.  Why can’t our small town government give you a straight answer on what they are authorizing our money to do?

The closure of the fire co is not the reason I am running, it was simply the final straw. For a long time many things at town hall were mismanaged and saying that closing the fire co was a cost cutting venture, and yet not a single council person ever saw any facts supporting the Mayor’s accusations they all voted in favor of signing the shared services agreement. I suggest every tax payer go to town hall and review the meeting minutes, when they discussed eliminating the only emergency service the town provided, you will find that no recorded minutes exist.

There is no data or facts supporting any of the accusations made from the mayor and council. So how did they make this “tough” decision, and why wasn’t anyone notified this was happening. We need elected officials whom will not only be honest but also accommodating to the tax payers of Folsom.

I’m done being told how it is; I want to know why it is.

In God we trust, all others bring data.